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Police: Murder suspect was also possibly planning a 'mass casualty event'
FREDERICK COUNTY
Police: Murder suspect was also possibly planning a 'mass casualty event'
Frederick County sheriffs say they recovered 9 guns, 2 explosive devices and a tactical vest.
Author: Laura Wainman, Scott Broom, Delia Goncalves
Published: 1:42 PM EDT March 24, 2021
Updated: 6:30 PM EDT March 24, 2021
THURMONT, Md. — In the process of arresting a 19-year-old on murder charges, Frederick County law enforcement officials say they may have foiled a planned "mass shooting or mass casualty event." ... While executing search warrants on 19-year-old Joshua David Eckenrode's home, police recovered nine guns, including an AR-15 and a shotgun, two live explosive devices, a tactical vest and a note to family apologizing for "having to go out this way."
Eckenrode was initially arrested Tuesday on charges of possession of explosive material and weapons, but on Wednesday he was charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the death of 19-year-old Curtis Mason Smith, who was found dead in a car Sunday afternoon after being reported missing several days earlier.
RELATED: 19-year-old charged with murder of missing Frederick teen, sheriff's office says
In charging documents, Detective Josh Stears said Eckenrode's name came up during his investigation of Smith's disappearance, as someone Smith was reportedly meeting up with on the day he was last seen. Stears and Detective Tyler Deatrich met Eckenrode at an apartment in Thurmont, Maryland Monday and questioned him regarding his last communication with Smith. According to charging documents, Eckenrode told detectives that Smith was a former classmate, who was possibly going to sell his car to Eckenrode. Smith and Eckenrode were both graduates of Governor Thomas Johnson High School in Frederick.
{snip}
Eckenrode admitted to the detectives that he met with Smith on March 19, the day he was reported missing, between 9 and 10 a.m. at Eckenrode's mother's house on Bethel Road. The detectives continued questioning Eckenrode about the intended purpose of his meeting with Smith, before Eckenrode finally asked to call his mom.
{snip}
Police: Murder suspect was also possibly planning a 'mass casualty event'
Frederick County sheriffs say they recovered 9 guns, 2 explosive devices and a tactical vest.
Author: Laura Wainman, Scott Broom, Delia Goncalves
Published: 1:42 PM EDT March 24, 2021
Updated: 6:30 PM EDT March 24, 2021
THURMONT, Md. — In the process of arresting a 19-year-old on murder charges, Frederick County law enforcement officials say they may have foiled a planned "mass shooting or mass casualty event." ... While executing search warrants on 19-year-old Joshua David Eckenrode's home, police recovered nine guns, including an AR-15 and a shotgun, two live explosive devices, a tactical vest and a note to family apologizing for "having to go out this way."
Eckenrode was initially arrested Tuesday on charges of possession of explosive material and weapons, but on Wednesday he was charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the death of 19-year-old Curtis Mason Smith, who was found dead in a car Sunday afternoon after being reported missing several days earlier.
RELATED: 19-year-old charged with murder of missing Frederick teen, sheriff's office says
In charging documents, Detective Josh Stears said Eckenrode's name came up during his investigation of Smith's disappearance, as someone Smith was reportedly meeting up with on the day he was last seen. Stears and Detective Tyler Deatrich met Eckenrode at an apartment in Thurmont, Maryland Monday and questioned him regarding his last communication with Smith. According to charging documents, Eckenrode told detectives that Smith was a former classmate, who was possibly going to sell his car to Eckenrode. Smith and Eckenrode were both graduates of Governor Thomas Johnson High School in Frederick.
{snip}
Eckenrode admitted to the detectives that he met with Smith on March 19, the day he was reported missing, between 9 and 10 a.m. at Eckenrode's mother's house on Bethel Road. The detectives continued questioning Eckenrode about the intended purpose of his meeting with Smith, before Eckenrode finally asked to call his mom.
{snip}